Statement from Assistant Secretary Alejandra Y. Castillo on President Biden’s 2024 State of the Union Address
Today, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo issued the following statement on the President's 2024 State of the Union Address and the Progress Made to Invest in America:
“As the President said in his first State of the Union address to Congress: the Biden-Harris economic plan is about investing in places and people that have been forgotten. During this most recent State of the Union we heard how those plans have become reality; and that reality is making Americans safer, stronger, and more primed for success than they have been in decades.
“As the only federal government agency focused exclusively on economic development, we at the EDA are helping to implement the President’s once-in-a-generation commitment to innovation, job creation, and regional collaboration. And we’re proud to say: it’s working.
“From new roads, bridges, and pipelines that help grow a region, to investments in job creation, education, disaster recovery, and new technologies that transform a nation, EDA has brought billions of dollars to communities large and small across America. The hundreds of thousands of jobs we have helped the Biden-Harris Administration create and support are transforming the futures of countless Americans and their families.
“We couldn’t agree more with the President’s assessment that ‘America’s comeback is building a future of American possibilities, building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down, investing in all of America, in all Americans to make sure everyone has a fair shot and we leave no one behind.
“EDA is proud to be a vital part of President Biden’s whole-of-government strategy to create an economy that works for everyone by creating opportunities that benefit everyone. We are grateful to hear the President renew his call for stronger funding for programs that invest in America.
“We hope Congress will take President Biden’s call for funding and support seriously. A budget that allows us to keep investing in America’s workers, coupled with the reauthorization of EDA, is critical for keeping this momentum of change going strong. Reauthorization is vitally important now to strengthen EDA’s ability to respond to new economic development challenges, such as the ever- changing energy sector, improving supply chain resilience, encouraging greater regional collaboration, and ensuring equitable economic growth that reaches the nation’s most underserved communities.
About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)
The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation’s regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA invests in communities and supports regional collaboration in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.